The Daughter Of Fangs
by Tesseri
Summary: The BloodClan was left leaderless when Scourge was slaughtered by Firestar. But now a new leader has risen from the darkness and she will drink the blood of nine lives. Rated 'T' for gore/blood/violence...
1. Chapter 1: Inherited

**--**

**Intro**:

Hi there! I'm Rai! This is my second warriors fanfiction, the first is still unfinished and will be continually updated as well as TDOF. First off I'd like to thank you for choosing to read this fanfic. I hope you enjoy it. This is taking place right after the battle in the six book of the first set in the warriors series.

--

**Summary**:

The BloodClan was left leaderless when Scourge was slaughtered by Firestar. But now a new leader has risen from the darkness and she will drink the blood of nine lives. Rated 'T' for gore/blood/violence...

--

Chapter One:

A pair of small, wide, frightened blue eyes peered through the dark, blood-soaked forest. The clearing's ground would've been dusty if it hadn't pools of the red liquid swimming around cold lifeless bodies of many cats. Most of them were not from the forest; all in fact were the dead left behind by the cats of her clan. Any living cats that had stayed behind were relatives or mates to the freshly dead.

The small blue-eyed black kitten slinked forward through the carnage, trying to keep her paw out of the crimson liquid. One of the living cats still present saw her, giving a glare that pierced the darkness. It uttered a low his at her.

The kitten's hackles rose anxiously and she hurried past. There was one cat she had to fins, but dreaded to, if he was among the cats that would never see the new dawn. Fur tufts were littering the moonlit ground; there were a few teeth too, reminding the kitten of the trophies often taken by the cats of her clan.

She trotted on, blue eyes growing desperate to find the cat she was searching for among the living. Ice filled her stomach and a knot formed in her throat; in front of her, about ten feet away was a familiar pelt, but not the one of the cat she was looking for.

"Bone!" She squeaked, dashing toward the unmoving black-and-white tom-cat. She pushed her nose into his fur, feeling the icy chill of death. The clan tom-cat was gone. At times, the kitten knew, Bone could be vicious, rude and harsh, but he had always been gentle and nice to her, like a second father. After a moment of mourning the dead tom she turned away to continue her search.

More living clan cats were coming and gathering closer to the kitten, but still keeping their distance. The kitten gave them a glance with her inherited blue eye. She tried to ignore the murmuring among them, scanning her surroundings, then her eyes met an awful sight. Near a large rock, lying on a bed of flattened red-splashed ferns was the cat she's been searching for. Immediately she froze horrified.

"Daddy...?" her mew was barely above a rough whisper. With timid steps she moved toward the cat's lifeless body. A couple of paw steps away she stopped, gazing at the black tom. "Daddy, wake up!" She mewed pitifully. "You can't be dead! Wake up, please!" she begged, desperation creeping into her voice. She rubbed her cheek against the black tom's fur. "I need you! Wake up!"

"He's never going to wake up you little rat!" A voice snarled from behind. The kitten whirled around. A huge gray furred- amber eyed she-cat towered above her, fixing the kitten with a malicious glare. "He's dead! They're all dead because of him!" her voice was laced with venom.

"No..." the kitten murmured, "It wasn't his fault!" she shouted.

"My mate is dead because of him!" the she-cat growled, causing the other live cats present to hiss in agreement, calling out their own relations who had died.

"He should pay, as well- like us, even in death with the life of _his_ kin!" one cat yowled.

All the other cats screeched in agreement, grinding the forest floor with claws that were reinforced with fangs. _"Kill her!"_, _"Rip that rat to shreds!"_, and _"We'll tear you guts out and feed them to the crows!"_ were only a few of the angry yowls from the cats, but none moved forward, except one. The rest still feared what would happen to them if they hurt her, even though her father was dead.

The one that stepped forward was a huge, muscular white tom-cat with many scars threading his long-furred pelt. The kitten immediately recognized the tom as Cloud, a cat her father thoroughly hated and distrusted, but let live only because he was valuably strong.

His yellow eyes fixed the black kitten, freezing her in fear. "Don't worry, I'll make this quick—but just as painful, rat!" Cloud raised her reinforced claws to lacerate the kitten. His paw was swinging down when time seemed to slow impossibly down to the kitten. She took a perplexed breath, when a dark translucent form appeared beside her. Her father.

"Kill him," her father's voice was cool and blunt as he gave the slow motion white tom a disdainful glance.

"What?" she mewed, confused, having thought he was here to take her from the world of the living to the depths for the dead.

"Cloud is a nuisance. You must get rid of him. Demand respect from the living." He purred encouragingly. "If they won't give it to you willingly, take it by force. Destroy Cloud!" his last words seemed like a cold shriek in the kitten's ears and then time resumed its normal speed.

With unearthly agility the kitten dodged under Cloud's fanged strike, swiping with her out fangless claws. It was to her surprise at the sudden cold power and icy fury she felt coursing through her muscles like a virus; she felt her claws tear through Cloud's flesh with hot blood flooding out in a stream through the air behind her claws, completely shredding Cloud's nose and front of his muscle. He yowled in raging agony trying to crush the kitten with his heavy paw as he fell. But she skipped on weightless paws out of Cloud's way. "You little rat!" he shrieked, launching himself at her.

The kitten scrambled backwards out of reach, allowing the rage-blinded tom to crash into a fallen tree limb. She dashed to the opposite side of her father's dead body, grabbing a tooth that had come out of his collar in her teeth. Cloud was about to pounce again, but this time the kitten was ready, and she leaped forward to meet him.

Cloud had not been expecting the kitten to try and attack him back and he hit the ground hard as she pounced on top of him. It was even more of a shock when nerve-racking pain blossomed across his forehead like a fiery flower. Hot, sticky liquid poured down his white fur, staining it the color of a dying sun. Blackness filled his eyes until all that was left were to two ice blue eyes of the kitten he'd just tried to kill. Then he was gone.

The rest of the cats, who'd been cheering Cloud on, had fallen into a dead silence in utter astonishment and fear. The kitten stood in front of the motionless white cat, blue eyes blazing with power and alarm as she stared at her work, unable to believe the murder she had just committed. The fang that she'd grabbed from her father's collar had been her tool in the butchery, and now, it lay lodged deeply in the very center of Cloud's split forehead with fragmented skull pieced jabbing out and blood webbing out through his fur, vibrant even in the pale moonlight.

A frightened gasp of mews traveled around the cats like a wave. The kitten could hardly tear her uneasy gaze from the white tom's dead body, but she did, fixing the rest of the cats with a frozen glare. They all dropped their wide-eyed stares as they bowed their heads, terrified.

"You are the leader of the clan, now," a tortoiseshell she-cat whispered, but loud enough for all to hear.

"Yes... Leader," many others murmured.

_How can this be?_ She thought; only moments ago she'd been a frightened, gentle kitten and now she was a cold-hearted murderous lead of an entire clan. The silence in the air was nearly as seeing the fang driven into Cloud's head, so an old, frail tom called out softly.

"What would you have us do now, Leader?"

_They are no longer calling me 'rat'_, she realized in shock. Her father had never given the kitten a name because he wanted her to choose her own name like he had when the right time came. Now it had come. Her mind, in the spur of the moment, had immediately gone blank, and she swiftly glanced around, trying to spark her mind for a name. Then it came to her. Slowly, but surely, the kitten raised her head high and proud. Her voice was strong, shaking only once as she spoke.

"I am Skull, daughter of Scourge and leader of BloodClan!"


	2. Chapter 2: Ancestor's Gift

**--**

**Author review response**:

Thanks to all who reviewed! And for those of you who didn't, shame on you! I had 6 reviews out of 44 views! I love getting reviews and it makes me write faster! SO if you want more chapters, get more people to review!

Lostloita: Thank you. I tried to make it as entertaining as possible.  
randompersons: lol thanks! I hope you like this next chapter.  
Silhouettemask: Like I said to you before, Skull has one heck of a story ahead of her. Thanks for reviewing.  
Ms. Sparkly Vampire Wolf: Here's the next chapter, Ms. Impatient. lol Jk enjoy!  
KamaraKitsuia: Thanks. I hope this chapter keeps you interested.  
SnaketailTheFirst: Also as I said before to you, I will try to add Snowlion. Thanks for the review

--

**Contest**:

Okay so I'm going to set up a contest, and the winner gets to create Skull's deputy/adviser who will be featured in a digital painting like the one viewable at the bottom of this chapter!

How to Enter:

You need to make a drawing of the cat you want to become Skull's deputy and give him/her a life history. The more detailed you are the more likely you are to win.

Rules:

1. You have to make your own cat! You can use line art if you get permission from the artist of it, but it must be colored by you! And you must tell me if you used line art!  
2. The history must be at least a paragraph (4-6 sentances). Really if you can't write that much about a BloodClan cat... sheesh.  
3.The contest will go for one week! From July 17 to July 24. You must have the cat entered by then.  
4. Send it to me in a PM putting spaces in the url so it will come through.

Thanks! I hope you'll enter!

--

**Summary**:

The BloodClan was left leaderless when Scourge was slaughtered by Firestar. But now a new leader has risen from the darkness and she will drink the blood of nine lives. Rated 'T' for gore/blood/violence...

--

Chapter Two:

There was a faint wintry coolness to the air as Skull walked behind the cats that she'd become leader of; she didn't trust any of these lawless cats to allow her back to be exposed to them. They'd definitely try to kill her if she didn't keep her guard up. She had commanded, faintly timid and unsure if they'd obey, that two of the cats, the gray she-cat from before and a tabby tom, to carry her father's corpse as the group traveled back through the trees of the foreign territory. Skull was completely silent as she walked; she was still in shock of her murder. The other cats would every so often take subtle glances back at the killer. She looked exactly like her father and could exterminate cats just like him.

"You did well, kit."

Skull nearly jumped out of her fur at the quiet menacing purr, turning to face the speaker to her left, but to her relief, it was another vision-like appearance of her father's soul. "I killed Cloud though!"

"He was going to kill you." Scourge spoke bluntly, just as he had when he was alive. "You never realized it, because you were my daughter, but in the BloodClan, it's kill or be killed. You're technique was incredible. Completely original!" He complemented with a faint smile.

Skull's raven-black tail drooped. "I can't believe it though! One minute he was alive and the next I'd murdered him!"

The translucency of Scourge's body wavered with each step; he seemed to be shrouded in a black cloud. "It's life. And don't worry about Cloud. He got a very nice little welcoming committee from me and a few of my loyal followers."

"What do you mean? I th... thought you were just a..." Skull stammered slightly.

"Hallucination?" The dead black tom snorted a chuckle. "No. I am not. This is really me." He held a see-through paw up to her eyes; Skull could see her father's cold eyes through the paw. "Apparently, there is a place for dead cats as the forest cats believe, and that's where my actual habitation is now. As I was saying, in the world of the dead, Brick, Bone and a few other of my loyalists met Cloud's spirit, or what ever it is of him that goes there. He seems to have gone insane at the thought being dead." Scourge let out a cruel amused purr.

Skull gaped at her father's soul in incredulity. "Would Cloud be able to come here like you?!" She squeaked in fear. "Is he going to come after me?"

"I doubt that rat-headed tom could even figure out where his own tail is now." Scourge said reassuringly. "Did you hear about the forest cat's after-death world?" Skull shook her head. "Well, the cat who killed me, Firestar, called his dead cat's world StarClan."

"Is that where you are?"

"No, I've not seen any forest cats here. Only BloodClan. This is BloodClan's dead realm. But that's not my point." Scourge snapped. "My point is, that the dead cat's of StarClan had given Firestar multiple lives, nine in fact. Like the legends and stories that strays often talk about. BloodClan had never really had _ancestors_ like the forest cats...until now. You are my kin and I want to present you with nine lives."

Skull stopped dead in her tracks, staring, mystified at her deceased father. "What...?" she whispered. Scourge looked at his stunned daughter with his dark body pausing beside her.

The ex-leader of BloodClan was about to speak again, but suddenly Skull's vision of him disappeared as another live BloodClan cat, walked through his ghostly body.

"Leader? What's wrong?" It was the old tom who'd first asked how he could serve his new leader. "You look like you saw a ghost or something."

Skull shook her head dazed. "Huh? Oh, I'm fine..." _Why didn't he attack me while I was distracted?_ she wondered.

--

A few nights later, Skull had returned home to the Twoleg Place and she had yet to have another dream of her father. After the first day of his spirit's absence she dismissed all to his visited as crazy dreams brought on by grief and shock. As the new BloodClan leader, food had been provided for her, placed outside her father's old den behind a Twoleg trash bin. But Skull of course hadn't slept there; it was too exposed and unsafe from any cat that meant her harm. So she had, struggling and slipping frequently, climbed all the way to the top of a Twoleg dwelling, sleeping in a corner between some boxes.

Compared to her old den when her father had been alive, the corner was practically tortuous, leaking wind and with no overhead shelter; Skull had obviously been spoiled as Scourge's daughter. _At least I've got food_, she thought, trying to be positive.

Skull hadn't talked to any cat for days, and they had no trouble leaving the kitten to herself. The last exchange of words Skull had had with any cat was telling the two cats carrying her father's body to place it in his deep den when the darkness and cool air would keep it from rotting so fast.

Nearly half a moon later, the first experience of Skull's leadership struck, and it hit hard like thunder.

Skull raised her head looking out into the blistering sunlit street from the cooling shadows of the ex-leader's den. At first it was faint, and Skull couldn't determine if it was real or she was imagining it, but then hard shrieking and yowling erupted down the street, causing the young black kitten to jump violently in shock, her fur fluffing out as she hissed annoyed.

She streaked out of the alley and onto the sidewalk, peering each direction. Without warning something rammed her hard in the back, making Skull tumble a few tail lengths, her legs entangling in what ever it was that had slammed into her.

It took a moment to gather her bearings and recuperate enough to stand and face it. Skull felt a lump fall into her throat; it was a huge mottled, scarred gray-and-brown tom with scorching yellow eyes, huge fanged claws and torn ears flattened against his skull that had some patches of fur missing and angry, sweltering rashes in the bald areas. His oily green-tinged teeth were bared in a snarling yowl.

Skull felt the jagged touch of terror as the tom reared up, his razor-sharp fanged claws and teeth ready to condemn the black kitten to her demise.

**--**

**End Chapter Two**

**Come back for Chapter three soon!**

**--**

**I recently made a picture of Skull and Scourge, from chapter one, that is viewable here. Just delete the spaces when you enter it into the url box.**

**tesseri-shira. deviantart. com /art/TDOF-1-Wake-up-PLEASE-91759332**


	3. Chapter 3: A Proven Leader

**--**

**Author review response**:

Thanks for everyone who reviewed and entered the Contest! There's still time if you want to enter, and you should read the 'new stuff' for contest info.

--

**Contest**:

Okay so I'm going to set up a contest, and the winner gets to create Skull's deputy/adviser who will be featured in a digital painting like the one viewable at the bottom of chapter two and the new one below at the end of the chapter.

How to Enter:

You can to make a drawing of the cat you want to become Skull's deputy and give him/her a life history. The more detailed you are the more likely you are to win.

**_New stuff:_ The only reason I need the picture of the cat is so I have an art referance for when I do the digital painting. If you can't manage to to a picture, just describe the cat with alot of detail so I can draw the cat correctly.**

_Rules:_

1. You have to make your own cat! You can use line art if you get permission from the artist of it, but it must be colored by you! And you must tell me if you used line art!  
2. The history must be at least a paragraph (4-6 sentances). Really if you can't write that much about a BloodClan cat... sheesh.  
3.The contest will go for one week! From July 17 to July 24. You must have the cat entered by then.  
4. Send it to me in a PM putting spaces in the url so it will come through.

_**There are three entries so far! There are still five days to enter!**_

--

**Summary**:

The BloodClan was left leaderless when Scourge was slaughtered by Firestar. But now a new leader has risen from the darkness and she will drink the blood of nine lives. Rated 'T' for gore/blood/violence...

--

--

--

--

Chapter Three:

Skull screeched, letting her claws rip across the disgusting tom's matted pelt. He had reared, exposing his stomach, and now it was badly scratched. He stared at Skull in shock, like he couldn't believe the kitten had attacked him first. But to Skull's utter confusion, he didn't try to fight back. Taking his hesitation into stride, Skull tackled the tom forward, pinning him to the hard ground. He rolled with the movement throwing the black cat off.

A small hiss of air was forced out of Skull's lungs as she hit the pavement hard. The startling switch of which cat had the upper hand, stunned her momentarily; everything was upside down to her now with a vast sky now filling her vision. Then the tom walked forward to stand over her, his greasy stench filling her nostrils and head hanging over.

Skull immediately tried to rake him, but he leaped back shouting, "Wait! Leader! I need your help!" Skull had jumped to her paws and was about to attack at him again, but at the call she stopped, claws still ready to strike.

"What?" She hissed, narrowing her eyes.

The diseased animal in front her cowered low, flattening his tick-filled ears. "Please! Help me! A twoleg is capturing some cats around my den! It is using a loop, putting it around their throats, then throwing them into a monster's belly! It took my mother and my littermates! I need your help great BloodClan leader!"

Skull felt her fur flattening. "A twoleg? How am I supposed to help with that?" She snapped, glaring at the tom. He was so worn and tattered like an old cloth, but just how old was he? He still lived with his mother and littermates, so he'd hardly be older than herself, and yet he was huge in comparison!

"You're the leader! You're supposed to help all the clan's cats!" The tom whimpered.

"I'm a kitten you fool! You're older than me! Take care of it yourself! If you think I can compete with twolegs you must have mud for brains." Skull meowed in a condescending tone. She turned around walking back toward her father's den. She gave the tom a haughty glance over her shoulder. He rose from his cower, glaring at her.

"_You little rat_! To think anyone would choose you to be in charge!" he hissed back. He barely had time to blink before the kitten was upon him, tearing her claws down his back, yowling viciously. Her teeth sank into his ear pulling back as hard as she could. The tom shrieked, rolling over hard. Skull suddenly felt a release between her teeth and she fell off the tom, with his bloody ear dangling from her mouth.

She spat it out, disgusted at the horrible taste it left. Her scorching eyes trained on the tom as she snarled, "Call me 'rat' again and I'll show you just how ferocious this 'rat' can be! I could rip your eyeballs out and make a banner from your worthless hide!"

Now the tom was truly cowering beneath Skull. Blood seeped down the earless side of his head, some of it running into his terrified eyes. "No! Please! I just wanted to save my family! After my father was killed in the forest I was left to protect them..." he let his head fall pathetically.

Skull instantly felt taken aback at the tom's statement. "Your father?" The tom barely gave a nod. A sudden feeling of guilt swept over Skull.

"Show me where they are." A white paw hit the ground in front of the tom's face. He looked up the kitten was staring down at him with her frightening blue eyes. "Show me where the twoleg and your den are."

--

Skull had climbed to the top of the nearest twoleg building and was following the tom, who stayed down on the ground. Each time there was an alley between buildings, she would leap the gap, keeping up with the tom below. The moment he stopped Skull leaped down from the rooftop, hitting the ground on all fours beside him.

A couple alleys down a twoleg holding a long stick with a loop at the end swiped his pole at a fleeing cat. The loop caught the poor feline around its neck, tightening, resulting in a sick choking gasp from the cat.

"Talon!" The tom beside Skull let out a pained wail, about to run to help the cat, but the kitten stepped in his way.

"You think charging in there would be helpful? You'd just get caught too! Even I know that! You're so mouse-brained!" She shoved him back into an alley with her shoulder, trying to block out the yowls from the alley over; ignoring them would be the best way she could keep her mind focused.

"But Talon is being taken away!" He hissed feebly.

"Just follow my lead, you stupid ball of slime." She grunted as she hooked her claws into the wall of the alley. Swiftly she slinked up the side of the twoleg building, latching claw after claw until she reached the top.

The tom stared after Skull for a moment, amazed that this tiny kitten was acting so calm and undeterred, even now. Then he started to follow her. The climb seemed so much more difficult for him than Skull, she glided up the wall like a beautiful spider, while on the other hand, the tom was like a crippled squirrel—sliding and scrambling until he joined her. He flopped on to the top, looking up at the kitten, who rolled her eyes pityingly at his wretched triviality.

"Get up already, Slime-ball." She said sharply, trotting toward the other side of the roof..

"My name is Bark, not slime-ball." The tom muttered resentfully with a sneer.

Skull looked down at the twoleg who was trying to stuff the cat –that the tom called Talon—into a monster's belly; but Talon had given the twoleg the slip, pulling out of the noose-like loop on the pole and trying to dive back into the alley's shadows. The twoleg tried to grab the cat by the scruff, but Talon wrapped his claws around the twolegs long limb, latching on like a tick.

Skull could hardly contain an amused purr as the twoleg let out a squeal, leaping back and forth, swatting to try dislodging the cat. "Your friend, Talon, seems to be able to handle himself." She said as the tom came up beside her.

Bark gave her a nervous glance; _would she leave? Was she not going to help?_

"Well?" He asked, "Are you going to do anything?"

"I'm thinking of a plan Slime-ball, shut up for a second would you? Unlike you I actually think things through." Skull snapped coldly. Bark recoiled, ducking his head submissively, not wanting to loose his other ear.

Talon below yowled ferociously as the twoleg ripped him of its leg and held him dangling by the scruff. Bark leaned farther over the edge of the roof anxiously. The twoleg was about to throw Talon into the monster's belly.

"Leader! Talon's about to—" Bark started to shout, but then the kitten beside him dived from the rooftop, soaring in an arc towards the twoleg, whose back was turned to the monster.

Tiny razor sharp claws clamped down on the unsuspecting twoleg's shoulder and Skull opened her mouth in a feral hiss, then buried her fangs into the twoleg's neck. The effect was instantaneous. Along with the unsuspected collision and pain-wrenching bite the twoleg dropped its grip on Talon's scruff, letting out a scream.

Skull could see the twoleg's paws reaching back to pull her off. If she didn't let now soon, the twoleg would put her in the monster! She released her bite, swiping at the twolegs eyes. She felt her claws connect with flesh, wetness splashed on her fur, and a bellow of agony rattled in her ears.

Suddenly the twoleg lashed out at the kitten, hitting her square in her side and throwing her off. The pavement came up faster than Skull could react, and she heard a crunch as she hit heavily on her side. Pain shot up her shoulder blade like a piercing fang. Skull felt a gasp crawl unbidden in to her throat.

Towering above, the twoleg was pawing at its scratched eye, wailing pitifully. It whirled around, glaring at Skull with its single good eye. Skull felt a wave of bitter dread run down her spine as it reached for her, and she unable to move, paralyzed in pain.

**--**

**End Chapter Three! Please R&R&Enter-the-Contest! :D**

**Come back for Chapter four soon!**

**--**

**I finished the picture of Cloud's death, from chapter one, that is viewable here. Just delete the spaces when you enter it into the url box.**

**Warning: Rated 'T' for blood/gore**

**tesseri-shira. deviantart. com /art/TDOF-2-I-killed-him-91952140**


	4. Chapter 4: Something Evil

**--**

**Author review response**:

Thanks for everyone who reviewed and entered the Contest! The winner's are posted below!

--

**Contest**:

Wow! I can't believe all the entries I got! There were so many amazing entries that I couldn't choose just one, so there are TWO WINNERS! And everyone else's entries were so great that I wanted to ask each person if they will let me still use their entries as other BloodClan members! Though they won't be deputy or get character sheets, they will be used in the story and possibly appear in some of the illustrations that I do! Please for everyone who entered, please tell me if I can use your entry!

Now for the Winners!

The Official deputy is Scorpion! (see below's link- delete spaces to use)  
Name: Scorpion  
Gender: Tom-cat  
Special Details: Serated claws, lost left eye,  
fc05. deviantart. com /fs31/f/2008/208/5/8/ TDoFWinner1of2ScorpionbyTesseriShira.jpg

The Official Advisor is Lynx! (see below's link- delete spaces to use)  
Name: Lynx  
Gender: She-cat  
Special details: One of Skull's old friends, nicked ear  
fc04.deviantart. com /fs31/f/2008/210/6/b/ TDoFWinner2of2LynxbyTesseriShira.jpg

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED THE CONTEST! PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT ONE!

--

**Summary**:

The BloodClan was left leaderless when Scourge was slaughtered by Firestar. But now a new leader has risen from the darkness and she will drink the blood of nine lives. Rated 'T' for gore/blood/violence...

--

Chapter Four:

She tried to claw at the twoleg's paw, but the movement sent waves of pain through her chest. It felt like something was trying to dig its way out of her flank. Skull let out a gasp and then the twoleg had her.

It held her aloft by her scruff, immobilizing her head so she couldn't turn and bite it. With each motion as it swung her around toward the monster caused cutting agony to ignite in her chest. Skull yowled and spat furiously, but helplessly.

There was a ringing metallic click as the twoleg opened a wall of silver tendril webs to a small box-like den, where huddled in the back were two young cats, probably Bark's siblings.

_Slime-ball!_ Skull suddenly remembered the annoying tom was still on the rooftop.

"Help me you stupid tom!" She shrieked desperately as the twoleg was moving to throw her into the box. Though she couldn't see the cat, the only thing Skull could do was hope he would help, and hadn't already run off like a spineless coward.

But hope was vain as the twoleg tossed the black cat roughly into the box. Skull slid across the shockingly cold floor of the box, colliding with the other two cats. Now the twoleg was reaching for the wall of metal tendrils, about to trap her.

--

Bark was frozen as he watched the one cat he thought could help him, be plucked off the ground like a limp mouse; she had no chance now.

At first he felt inclined to leap off the roof and try to help her, but all thoughts of assisting the young cat were exchanged for a grudging stubborn refusal to help when the vicious little she-cat who had torn off his ear yowled, "Help me you stupid tom!"

If it weren't for the fact that his family was being taken away too, Bark may have felt maliciously joyful that the rude, sharp-tongued kitten was caught. _Good riddance_, he thought smugly, his hackles raising with pleasure and spitefulness. He watched passively as the kitten was hurled into the monster; for a brief moment he thought he heard her cry out in pain. Bark purred even more at that.

The twoleg was reaching to close the silver web of the monster's belly, and Bark, leaned forward eagerly to watch the hapless kitten be taken away; but then a brown form streaked out of the alley shadows below and rammed the surprised twoleg.

--

Skull watched the twoleg gamely whirl away, yelping as something attacked it from behind, before it could close the silver tendril wall-web. The other two cats with her, a tortoiseshell she-cat and a dappled gray-and-brown tom (much like Bark with out the bald patches), whimpered, trying to keep out of the twoleg's flailing limbs as it spun to try warding off its attacker.

"Run for it, you mouse-brained fur balls!" Skull hissed at them through teeth gritted in pain as she shakily dragged her injured body upright; she could hear the blood throbbing in her ears. The pair exchanged wide eyed glances, then shot out of the box without a second glace back.

"Ungrateful fox-dung..." Skull felt moans crawl up her throat unbidden as her vision wavered slightly. After a few breaths her head cleared and she turned to gaze at the panicking twoleg. At first it appeared to be swiping at thin air around its fur-topped head, then as it spun Skull caught a glimpse of the attacker. It was a sleek, dark brown tabby tom with brilliant green eyes. His gaze met Skull's for only the briefest fraction of a moment, then her was tearing at the twoleg again with his razor-pointed claws. It was the tom from before; _Talon_!

Skull immediately knew what he wanted her to do; run while the cage was open and the twoleg distracted, She limped to the edge of the box, peering down to the ground a few tail-lengths below. Slowly, agonizingly the tiny leader clambered down; when her paws hit the ground it sent a dull throb into her chest, but she ignored it the best she could. Along with all the other pulses of pain she gingerly, yet as fast as she could, sped for the safety of the dark alley's shadows.

--

Bark's temper flared violently as he saw his older brother, Talon, clawing and battering the twoleg allowing the black kitten to slink out of the monster's belly.

"You mouse-brain!" he snarled quietly in the dark tabby's direction, when the black kitten disappeared into the alley, "What are you doing?"

Then Talon leaped away from the twoleg, shooting away like a speeding rabbit. Bark dashed after him across the rooftops, leaving the injured twoleg dripping beads of blood into the street as it stumbled into the monster's belly.

--

It took a while, but finally Skull, taking a long detour got back to the alley of her father's den. The cooling shade felt so inviting under her paws on the warm ground. Her chest was blazing now, but she ignored it the best she could. Her breath was raspy and labored. Her throat was parched and felt leathery. She felt so exhausted, but desperately wanted a drink. Sitting in the shade only a moment more, she heaved herself up and limped toward a long tube on the side of the alley building. There was one tiny crack in it where constantly a steady trickle formed a small puddle; just enough to take a drip and dab her blistery hot paw in.

The cool stream down her throat felt so refreshing. Skull sighed and limped toward her father's den. But to her shock, some cat was there, waiting in the shadows for her.

She fell back, stumbling and squeaking in surprise, not knowing whether the cat before her was friend or foe. Slowly the tom came forward and Skull recognized him for a second time that day.

"You... You're Talon, aren't you?" she stuttered softly.

The green eyed, dark tabby flicked his ears and nodded, "I never got to thank you for attacking that twoleg and making it drop me."

Skull gave him a perplexed look; she wasn't used to cats thanking for anything. "Um...yeah, I guess. Thank _you_ for distracting it for _me_."

"A life for a life," he shrugged nonchalantly, like it was nothing.

Skull felt her fur prickle up slightly. If he was going to act so stuck up about it, She would just act the same way.

"Not that I needed your help though." She flashed him a glare of her frighteningly blue eyes.

"Sure you didn't, kitten," Talon smirked smoothly at her.

Skull could feel her hackles raising, "If that's all you had to say, then get out of here." Her gaze was as cold as ice.

"As you command, kitten leader," he flicked her with his tail as he trotted past, causing her fur to spike up threateningly.

"My name is Skull, you stupid fur-ball." She hissed after the dark tom.

--

The moment Talon turned the corner to his family's den a pale, dappled, brown-and-gray form tackled him, pinning him to the ground.

"Get off me, Bark!" Talon growled as the tom's putrid breath poured over his muzzled. Talon kicked out sharply, beating Bark's stomach and throwing him off.

"Why did you help that rat escape?" The greasy cat growled.

"Why do you care, you coward? She saved me, so I returned to favor. Unlike you, that kitten didn't huddle in a corner like a frightened mouse." Talon snapped disdainfully, licking the dust off his fur.

"She ripped my ear off," Bark yowled as Talon, ignoring his younger sibling, stood, brushed past him, and trotted toward the den.

"You've never looked better!" Talon purred tauntingly.

"Something is seriously wrong with that cat!" Bark whined.

"Oh, please, give me a break. She's just some orphaned kitten who got lucky enough to become the leader of BloodClan." The tabby spoke condescendingly.

Bark gave a wary glance behind himself, as if he expected Skull to leap out and attack him at any moment, "I swear, there's something about her! Really!" he faded as Talon gave him a look that said he was paranoid. "Something... evil..." He muttered under his breath.

--

Skull moaned as she rolled off her pained side, settling slowly, letting her eyes droop tiredly. She hadn't been able to climb up to her roof top den and so for the first time stayed in the alley, in her father's den. It was eerily silent in the descending darkness, but Skull was to exhausted to notice or care. Soon she was in resting unconsciousness.

Immediately in the black of her mind, Skull felt her mental self move, as if she were really walking. In the dream-like state she felt just like she were really awake, but in an endless field of gray.

Skull tried to see something in the emptiness that was distinguishing or familiar. She turned around and around, nervous as the lonely dark. A tingling filled her paws, crawling up her claws. She briefly glanced down and her eyes widened as she saw dark red oozing up her paws.

Skull's eyes snapped open in to full wakefulness with a mew of terror. When she realized it had been just a strange dream, she sighed dropping her head. But then she realized there really was blood staining her fur. She let a yowl as she saw it's source beneath her paws; a skull, bathed in white moonlight, red stained strips of scalp, bloodied flesh and fur clinging barely from the bone. There was fur clotted in her claws; she had done this bloody work!

Horror filled Skull's throat, tightening it with fiery tension.

"No..." Skull whimpered, desperately in denial that she had committed the demonic act.

"Hello, Skull," a sinister, rasping voice spoke from the shadow's in front of her. "It's time."

**--**

**End Chapter Four! Please R&R! :D**

**Come back for Chapter five soon!**

**--**


	5. Chapter 5: The Task

**--**

**Author review response**:

Thanks for everyone who has been so patient! And now for the start of the new TDOF Season (as I like to call it) Here is CHAPTER FIVE! WOOT!

--

**Contest**:

I've deleted the old 'second' contest and decided to start a different one. This one is for SHIPPINGS!  
Your task is to look at all the shippings listed below and make up names for them and choose a theme song for that shipping and include the lyrics in your submission :D. (ex: ScourgeXSandstorm- _Devilshipping/song&artist_) But the second part of the contest will be voting on the shipping titles that I select as my top ones. Also if you don't know who all the characters are check out my DA profile for pictures of each character (except Bark. I haven't got around to uploading his pic yet XD Talon and Geyser are on DA though ;). I know some characters haven't 'appeared' in the story yet, but whatever.

Okay the first shipping set:  
SkullXTalon-  
SkullXScorpion-  
SkullXBark-  
SkullXGeyser-

Second shipping set:  
LynxXTalon-  
LynxXScorpion- **Commandshipping** (sorry I already have a name for this one, but I still need a theme song )  
LynxXBark-  
LynxXGeyser-

Winners will get one free request sketch of just about anything they want. (if I can't do your first request, plz submit another.) Thanks for entering. You can enter as many shipping names as you want, but please don't do too many, cuz then people might not get to, becuz theur idea was taken or something... Whatever.

**_DEADLINE Oct 10, 2008_**

--

**Summary**:

The BloodClan was left leaderless when Scourge was slaughtered by Firestar. But now a new leader has risen from the darkness and she will drink the blood of nine lives. Rated 'T' for gore/blood/violence...

--

Chapter Five:

Skull froze in the silent darkness, her breath faint and it seemed so cold around her, that the vapor from her breath frosted in small disappearing clouds. Her skin prickled at the eerie haunted feeling in her throat. "Who are you?" she hissed, in a voice more confident than she felt.

"Come now," the voice purred silkily. "How could you not recognize me?" a faded, dark form grew into visibility with the faintest of a glowing outline.

"We had to wait for you to prove yourself, before you were ready." A second voice said as its owner came forward too.

"W-what? What are you talking about?" Skull flicked her eyes between the two figures anxiously.

The first speaker dropped its head in an exasperated sigh. "Really, Skull! Scourge must have told you our plan?!"

Some sort of familiarity of the voice's tone had been itching in the back of Skull's mind and now it dawned on her what it was. Skull's realizing gaze rested on the first figure. "Bone! It's you!" He finally stepped out of the shadows into a clear view.

"Took you long enough," the other cat—a tabby she-cat—rolled her eyes.

Bone's ghostly form gave the deceased she-cat beside him a deadly glare, taking a brief moment to pass Skull a wink, "Silence, you rotted crow's-meat! Skull has exceeded expectations when she was put to the test and when it came to it, she easily completed the task. Do not be condescending to a cat who has been and done more than you ever could, even when she is barely six moons old!" He growled, raising the fur on his neck.

"Forgive me, Bone," the she-cat ducked her head, eyes widened nervously. Bone let out a disgusted sneer, returning his gaze to Skull.

"Who…?" Skull started to ask. Bone knew what she meant and replied.

"This bag of crow's-meat is Seed, just some Bloodclan cat Scourge wanted me to bring. He thought she might be able to help you." He flicked Seed with his tail and she uttered a low hiss at him.

"Scourge wanted me to help you with that injury you received during your fight with the twoleg. I was fairly good at healing when I was alive." The foul-mood she-cat muttered. She warily approached Skull. The black kitten flinched slightly as Seed's ghostly form nosed her shoulder in the most painful spot.

"Watch it, Seed!" Bone growled when Skull's hackles rose in a squeak of pain.

The she-cat dropped away, avoiding Bone's hard stare. "I can't help with this…" swiftly she added, before he could grow angry, "Her limb is dislocated and I don't know how to set it, but there is probably some living cat who does… Maybe even one of those disgusting cats from the forest knows…"

Bone angrily huffed a breath, "Fine, now, get out of here, crow's-meat. Get back to Scourge."

Seed's tail swept the ground tensely as she shot away into the darkness.

Once she was out of site, Bone uttered a harsh rumbling sigh, turning back to Skull. Her eyes were narrowed as she asked, "So I'm really not dreaming?"

"No—you are dreaming, but not in a normal way," Bone replied.

"But you're dead! This has got to be just a nightmare…"

"Of course I'm dead!" He snapped dryly, "but would you call receiving an impossible gift, only heard of in legends and stories, a_ nightmare_? Scourge wants to give you nine lives! But for some reason he can't contact you and so sent me to make sure you create a path for him to get through to you. I believe you had a significant dream before you entered this one, right? That was the key. What was it about?"

_Scourge can't see me?_ Skull thought to herself as she mewed, "Something about blood… and I clawed the flesh off something, but then I felt the blood in _my_ fur. And that was all…"

"Ironic, isn't it," Bone muttered—half to himself. In the shadows he stroked something with his fang-reinforced claws. "that the way to grant access to Scourge would be a sacrifice to _him_ and a test of your name?" Suddenly, he hooked the shadowed object with a claw and flung it in front of Skull.

The red soaked thing hit the ground with a wet slap, flecks of liquid ricocheting onto Skull's muzzle. The scent of death and festering flesh tore at the roof of her mouth and she hissed fearfully. The dismembered head was that of her father's.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" she shrieked; the clouded, ice-eyes bore into her like claws. She unsheathed her own threateningly.

Bone didn't even blink and with a cold sneer, snapped, "Me? You did it while in your sleep. You were so close to completing the task, but you stopped!"

"I did not take the head off of my own father's body!" she snarled in rage.

"You need to finish what you started." Bone said calmly. "Take the flesh off Scourge's skull and he will be able to give you nine lives."

"No…" she said in a defiant, but faded, voice.

"Scourge told me you'd act like this…" Bone sighed angrily. "Fine, you can refuse to do it now, but you WILL finished the task. As for now, I will give you some advice. You need to find someone to be your second in command, and a mentor or advisor or whatever you want to call it. You remember my daughter?"

Skull nodded, "Lynx?"

Bone continued in his emotionless meow, "Yes. Loyalty to the leader is essential to keep the clan together. You need to find trustworthy members and I think Lynx would not hesitate in helping you."

"Lynx is alive?"

He nodded, "She escaped being killed in the forest, and hid in a secret place of hers. You should be able to find her there; it's a secluded, abandoned, twoleg nest near the edge of the forest."

Skull contemplated this as he continued, "And as Seed said, you might be able to fix your leg… even if it's with the help of a forest cat. The only thing I can provide you with is this; a vision of a cat I think might be able to help you in getting their help. We don't know who he is, but he is strong." Bone leaned forward and touched his muzzle to Skull's forehead.

Suddenly Skull saw a flash and the image of a huge gray-ish silver tom with massive, jagged edged claws, scars all over and one of his green eyes had been clawed out. In the vision the tom was surrounded by three cats—a tom and two she-cats—who bared their fangs tauntingly at him. The silver scarred tom swung a paw with serrated claws at one, lacerating the flesh tissue on its flank. Almost immediately the vision vanished like a blink and even Bone was fading into blackness. With a final remark he disappeared and Skull was unconscious one more.

The last he had said was, "—kidnap a forest cat…"

Skull jolted awake to the sound of crashing in the alley outside the den and had a sudden sense of reoccurrence. Warily she limped to the entrance and put her head out just far enough to see around. She half-expected to see Bark to come running into her begging for help. It felt almost exactly like the previous day.

But there were no signs of the revolting cat and Skull sighted before moving out into the dawn light. The warmth was surprisingly welcome on her chilled fur. She stretched, letting her mouth gape in an energizing yawn. A faint flavor tickled her senses and she followed it to the trash bin that the twolegs often threw food into.

Gamely, she crawled up boxes and boards on the side of the bin, to the top and tore open the black bag where the smell was coming from. Rotten food, inedible items and a small white container tumbled out and Skull clawed the small container, fining some sort of meat inside.

She swiftly bit into the dry stringy meat, crunching a small bone between her teeth. Swallowing was difficult, but she managed. After only a few bites a hiss sounded next to her ear and suddenly her head was slammed aside so hard that she was thrown back. Yowling filled her throat and her claws unsheathed as she whirled to face whoever it was.

It was a lanky she-cat, thin and worn, with yellowed teeth and blazing amber eyes; there were a few injuries that crossed her flanks, some old and would be scars soon, and others fresh and oozing puss. Her bloodless lips curled in a snarl," Get out of here kitten—this is mine now."

"Back off," Skull snarled back, uncharacteristically forceful, clawing the air threateningly. Something seemed proverbial about the cat, but she couldn't put her paw on what it was exactly. As the she-cat was hissing a response, it hit her. Placing a paw in front of the meat she said, "I know you..."

"I don't know you, so leave before I make you," the she-cat snapped.

"You had two companions," Skull continued, ignoring the threatening claws as she pulled memory from her dream, "but you were attacked by a huge gray tom who was missing an eye, weren't you?"

The she-cat looked taken aback at the informed statement; her eyes dulled, "So what?" she looked somewhat nervous now.

"He killed you friends, didn't he? Last night?"

"How—" the she-cat shook her head as if it would clear her confusion. "What do you want from me?"

"Who is the gray tom? I'll give you this meat if you'll answer my questions." Skull could see that neither of them could afford a fight or more injury and she hoped the cat would accept her offer.

"I don't know who he was," was the muttered response.

"Do you know where I can find him?"

The she-cat's eyes snapped up, giving Skull a look that said _you must be insane_, "Why would you want to find what..." she searched for the right word, "_creature_?"

Ignoring the words and her incredulous voice, Skull repeated, "Do you?"

"Last I saw, he dragged my companions' carcasses behind a twoleg nest and laid down to rest, I think. In that direction," she added, pointing with nose toward the rising sun. "You'll be killed if you get too close."

Skull shoved the meat toward her, "Thanks for the warning."

"I don't care if you get killed, kitten. I only worry about myself." She snapped back as she fell hungrily upon the meat.

"Thanks anyways," Skull replied, with more gratefulness than the old cat deserved.

_I'll find the gray tom first_, she decided in her mind, _then I will look for Lynx_. She knew Lynx would be more trustworthy, but if she didn't take this chance of finding the tom, it was likely that she'd lose her lead and never find him.

As Skull started off in the indicated direction, she did not feel the angry gaze that followed her from the rooftops.


	6. Chapter 6: Loyalty

Author Note:  
I'M BACK! Yay! Sorry for the long wait! Anyways here's chapter Six!  
And there's a new image of Skull and Scourge on my DA page if you want to check it out :D  
Oh yeah... Screw the contest from chapter five. It never worked out right. So I'm not doing it any more. There will be one though some time later so keep checking back!  
And thanks to all my readers for commenting and stuff :D I really hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter Six:

Just as Skull felt the burning gaze on her back, she didn't notice a shadowed form slinking along behind her at a distance; it was Bark. He'd watched Skull's confrontation with the old she-cat in scorn and yet he couldn't help but be amazed that the kitten had actually made the she-cat almost cower with less than a few words. He hissed in furious annoyance. _Something unnatural was going on with that vicious, little kitten and he was going to find out what it was and expose it to 'her clan'_; he thought vengefully as his stumpy ear base throbbed with painful, puss-oozing infection.

Bark looked up as something shadowy on a nearby rooftop moved, but missed whatever it was. _Was someone else watching Skull? Maybe he could get them to join him in finding out what she was doing._

Bark shook himself. _No, if anyone was going to get credit for anything, he deserved it._ Having lost his concentration on following Skull, Bark looked around as he realized he had lost sight of her.

"Stupid furball!" He snapped to himself angrily, setting off in the direction he hoped she had gone.

Skull limped along as fast as she could; she hoped the tom would not have left by the time she reached the place the old she-cat had told her of. After about seven blacks she paused, glancing around, then took an alley into the shadows of the early morning.

A rat fled the pile of trash it had been sifting through at her approach. Skull's pupils dilated to let in more light, and she tasted the air. She was sure the tom has to be somewhere near; the scent of blood and dead flesh emanated from deeper part of the alley—it had to be the pair of cats that the tom had killed.

Sure enough as she went forward, a lumpy silhouette came into view and she saw the corpses of the familiar forms from her dream. One of the cats had a slashed throat and the other's stomach was torn open; the mottled, purple-and-red innards of the poor creature spilt out and spread across the ground.

Skull suppressed a gag and tried to ignore the bodies as she limped past. The rooftops blotted out most of the morning light and the air was dry and still. Her breathing seemed to reverberate in the emptiness of the atmosphere.

But there was no sign of the tom. _Had she missed him?_ the thought flitted through her mind. But then a low, rumbling voice spoke softly from the shadows to the side of her.

"You should leave before I kill you."

A chill ran down her spine and Skull froze, not eager to make any sudden movements that might provoke the speaker. Slowly she turned he head.

"I don't mean to trespass..." She replied quietly, her gaze resting on the single, gleaming poison-green eye that shone over a set of brutal fangs from a recessed opening in a wall, shrouded in blackness, and then he came forward.

"If that's true then I'll let you have a chance to run, kitten, and live to see tomorrow," the roughness of his voice matched the tom's appearance perfectly. As she has seen in her dream one of his eyes was missing—three scores lashed across the socket. His mid-length, gray fur was mottled and riddled with old lesions and gashes; another three scars knotted the skin across the center of his back. His claws were reinforced with fangs, but unlike the Bloodclan's needled, smooth-tips style, his were serrated. He hunched his shoulders, holding his head low in a threatening position. Lastly, Skull noticed his ear was freshly torn—probably from his conflict the night before.

"Actually..." Skull swallowed hard, "I- I was looking for you..." It took all her concentration to keep from trembling under the tom's gaze.

He leaned forward, growling slightly, "When I said I'd give you a chance, you should have run."

"But..." Skull stumbled a step back. "I've come to ask for your help."

Suddenly the tom chuckled; something Skull would have thought he wasn't capable of doing. "_Me_? Why would _I_ help _you_? You have no incentive for me."

Skull flinched; she laugh was more ominous that his growl._ Did she even have anything to offer?_ She hesitated, "What would you want in exchange to help me?"

"I don't want anything. I've got all I need. Now leave!" He hissed, turning back to the opening in the wall.

"I can't—I need your help!" the words came out before she could stop them.

"Do you have a death wish?!" He roared, whirling on her.

Skull jumped back, afraid he's lash out with his devastating, serrated claws, and more words leapt, unbidden, into her mouth, "I know you could kill me if you wanted to, but please listen to me! I'm the leader of Bloodclan and will give you a position of power in my clan if you are willing to help and swear your loyalty to me."

"_You_?" he snorted and paused, eyeing her. "I heard of the Great Bloodclan many moons ago from a rogue, far from here. I came here to see if I could join, because I thought the leader was a ruthless sovereign worthy of having command over me. If it is true that you are the leader, then I've been grotesquely misinformed. You're nothing but a kitten!" He let out his cold laugh again.

Skull bristled at the stinging comment, "My father was a previous leader, but he was killed in battle by a stinking forest cat about a moon ago. The rest of the clan blamed me for the deaths of their kin in the battle so I killed one of them—a tom named Cloud—to make an example of what would happen if they crossed me. They named me leader for it and if you don't believe me I'll show you the carcass to prove it. I am Skull, Scourge's daughter and I've come asking for help and loyalty from a warrior such as you, in exchange for power. If you accept, I am in your debt. If you don't, it's your choice, but if you still wish to kill me then I will fight to the death." She concluded, having raised herself fearlessly to face the tom, fully expecting him to tear her to shreds.

For a long moment nothing happened; the tom just looked at her with his single green eye. Tension filled the air like electricity in a lightning storm. Skull held her breath as he let out his—and then... he laughed.

It wasn't his menacing chuckle from before, but an actual warm laugh. He shook his head slightly as he said, "Nice speech... Relax, kitten. I'm not going to kill you. I haven't heard someone stand up to me like that since my father ripped my eye out. It's a refreshing change from everyone cowering when I'm around."

Skull, slightly in shock as his response, slumped and sank to her haunches. She let out her breath in a nervous gasp, trying to meet his gaze again.

The tom's shoulders had lost their tension, too. "I'm Scorpion." He meowed.

"Skull," She replied shakily.

"You said that already."

"Sorry," she squeaked, "It's just that you are kind of intimidating..."

Scorpion laughed again, "You didn't act like that a minute ago. You were ready to fight to the death."

She let out another shaky laugh, "Yeah, well, I do a lot of things in the heat of the moment."

"Me too," He nodded with a grin. "So why did you need my help?"

Skull sat up straight. She had almost forgotten the reason she has came. "I've been given a task and I'm not sure I can complete it. But also I'm trying to find some loyal cats in my clan who won't kill me the first chance they get. One of the things I also need to do is find a cat to fix my dislocated shoulder. That is where I need your help. To do that I have to get one of the forest cat's healers, so I wanted you to help me kidnap one."

"Wow..." Scorpion raised his eyebrows, "for a kitten, you've sure got a lot of problems."

"So... will you help me?" Skull asked.

Scorpion looked at her. "I came here to join Bloodclan. If the leader needs help, I'd be glad to give it," He replied firmly.

Skull glanced back and forth, almost as if she were confused, "Just like that? No death threats? You're not going to kill me when my back is turned?"

He shook his head, "No. You don't seem too bad for a kitten... or leader for that matter. And who knows? Kidnapping a forest cat might be fun!" He grinned wickedly, flexing his corded muscles.

"I'm glad I'm not your enemy," Skull laughed tensely once again, as Scorpion scraped his serrated claws on the ground, causing sparks to jump.

"Your enemies will think twice before messing with you," He smirked in return.

Near the entrance of the alley, Bark heard Scorpion's last reply and he trembled fearfully. _Skull was recruiting malicious killers for something!_ He nervously backed out of the alley before they could come out and find him. He had to tell someone before the kitten did something really bad to the rest of the cats in Twolegplace.

His lips curled in a sneer as he thought of Talon's response to the fact that he was right about Skull. _She was up to something!_ He could only imagine what the cats of Bloodclan might do to her if he exposed it. _Payback for my ear!_ he thought cruelly.

Then another though. _Who would even believe him?_ Bark sighed, frustrated. Then he caught sight of the shadow on the roofs again. _It was following Skull... but why? Did it have the same goal as he did? Maybe it could help convince the clan!_ He thought hopefully.

Swiftly he dashed to the nearest place that could climb to the rooftops, leaping from ledge to ledge, grunting from the exertion. The figure was beginning to move again.

"Wait!" Bark yowled. "I want to talk to you!"

The figure paused, seemingly turning to look at the disgusting cat that was following it. Bark leaped on to the roof it was on, skidding to a stop. "Ugh... Thanks for waiting. Are you—" Bark stopped speaking as he got a clear view of the figure.

It was a cat—or at least something like a cat, but it somehow looked malicious, completely black with blood red eyes that glowed like coals and it was huge. Bark swallowed. This wasn't what he'd been looking for.

The creature stared at Bark as emotionlessly as a corpse, then took a step toward him. The sun was rising behind it, and it almost looked as if it were on fire. Then Bark realized he could actually see the sun _through_ the creature's body.

Suddenly it lunged toward Bark, and with a yowl the cat, leap away, running to the edge of the roof and sliding to the ground. He was positive he could hear the creature's paws pounding behind him as he ran.

End Chapter Six!

OMG?! what do you think is going to happen?! Whose your fav character? Least fav? TELL ME! I love feedback! Also please comment!


	7. Chapter 7: The Blood Master

_Note from the Author:_

_HELLO! Finally after a crazy long hiatus I have returned!  
And for all my fans I thank you very much with and give you  
**drum roll please**  
CHAPTER SEVEN! YAY!_

_Glad summer is here so I can work on all my projects!  
BTW I have a new Webcomic coming out soon! So stay  
tuned!  
Also, fanart is very highly loved :D **winkwink**_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

**Chapter Seven:**

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"What are we doing now?" Scorpion asked crossly. He wanted to go kidnap a forest cat, but Skull had insisted that she needed to do one more thing. They had left the alley and walked for a while, to the edge of Twoleg Place, where a few abandoned Twoleg nests were. "I'm loosing my patience. So if you want my help, we'd better get to it soon."

Skull winced as she accidentally stepped on a sharp rock and stumbled a couple steps. "Stop being so anxious," she snapped in an equally cross response.

"Watch it. I may have said I wouldn't kill you, but that doesn't mean I won't thrash you up a bit as a lesson," He growled. "You could at least tell me what we are doing."

"We are going to find one of my old friends," she replied hastily, not doubting his threat was real.

Scorpion sighted loudly, "_Why_? We don't need anyone else's help. And how do you expect to find this friend if you don't know where he is?"

"_She_," Skull corrected sharply, "is one of the only cats I believe will be loyal to me, and she has a secret place around here."

"If it is secret, how do you know about it?" Scorpion grinned as he tried to mess with Skull's mind.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Why do you ask so many stupid questions?"

"Touchy," he grinned again. "You really need to relax more."

"Hard to, you know, when everywhere I turn there's a cat from my own clan who would love to kill me," she hissed back.

"I think you are just paranoid," Scorpion purred tauntingly.

"Shut up," Skull hissed and began limping faster. She tasted the air as she went, but the smell of rotting garbage and rat droppings filled the abandoned area, clogging her senses.

Scorpion came up behind her as she stopped. "Why would any cat want to hang around this trash heap?" he asked, flicking something slimy, green and repulsive-smelling from one of his paws.

Skull squinted one eye at him, "_Yeah_… and sleeping with cats' guts under your nose is _so much better_."

"That was just one night," Scorpion replied, sounding almost like a incredulous kitten.

"It's still disgusting," she returned his taunting from before.

"You're lucky I haven't slashed your throat yet for insulting me," he snapped moodily.

Skull rolled her eyes, "You know what? I think you are nothing but a cat who talks big to get your way. Sure you can definitely fight and be brutal, but you keep saying you are going to tear me up and you don't. Ha, you are just a big softie!" She grinned as Scorpion stopped dead in his tracks at the comment and she trotted swiftly ahead, climbing over a few broken crates. She paused at the top of them and looked back over her shoulder only to see Scorpion launch himself at her, baring his teeth in a wicked grin. Immediately Skull leapt down the other side of the crates and, still stumbling because of her injury, bolted.

"A softie?" he roared, charging after her, "You'll pay for that!"

Before Skull could run another step, he barreled into her and they both skidded across the muddy ground until they rammed into a plank of wood that was propping up a load of trash. The junk came crashing down on them like a wave.

Once it settled and only a few pieces of brick still clattered to the ground, Skull groaned, trying to push herself upright under the weight. Then, a noise coming from the side of her, made Skull pause. It was Scorpion laughing.

Shoving upwards with his back, the well-built tom lifted the trash off himself and pulled free of the pile. He was laughing good-humouredly as he tossed some trash away until he could see Skull under the pile. He grinned lopsidedly at her, "You okay?" then added with a wince, "Ouch."

This huge cat sometimes acted like a kitten. Skull stared at him incredulously. "You are crazy!"

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, grabbing some trash between his teeth and tugged it off, allowing Skull to crawl out. She shook herself, her dislocated leg almost buckling underneath her. She flinched as it cramped up, then turned on Scorpion. He grinned mischievously, "Sorry."

"Yeah right," she replied, scooping up a pawful of mud up and flinging it right into his face. Skull couldn't hold back a snicker, but when Scorpion's fur bristled threateningly—not hesitating Skull shot away as fast as her limp would let her, laughing lightly.

Scorpion shook he head until most of the must was gone and rubbed the last off his eye with the back of his paw. He blurrily looked around until he saw Skull's dark form speeding away from him. He smirked and dashed after her.

Skull took a turn between two abandoned dens and immediately regretted the choice as she realized it was a dead end. But it was too late to go back because now, Scorpion blocked the entrance.

He smiled evilly as he advanced, backing Skull into the wall. "Ha! Got you!" he crowed triumphantly, raising his claws.

"You wouldn't!" Skull's eyes widened.

He shrugged, "Nah, you're ri—" but he was cut off.

Neither of them had seen the golden for launch itself from the roof and tackle Scorpion with a screech, sending both tumbling into the wall of the dead end. Skull leaped out of the way as Scorpion and his attacker rolled around then broke apart.

A feeling of gratitude washed over Skull as she recognized the golden cat. Her jade green eyes flashed, and her dark stripes stood prominently from her lustrous pelt. Miraculously, only her three black, and single white, paws were muddy, while Scorpion was plastered. She irritably flicked her ear that had four notches in it.

The sleek she-cat glanced at Skull, and returned her gaze to Scorpion, "Skull! I thought that was you! Are you alright? I'll shred this stupid tom, if you want."

"Yeah right!" Scorpion snorted, and started to say something about ripping her guts out, but Skull interrupted.

"No, Lynx! He's with me," She said before they could kill each other.

Scorpion uttered a low growl, "_That's_ your friend?"

At the same time Lynx hissed, "_That_ lump of tattered fur is with you?"

They snarled at each other's words.

"Shut up, the both of you!" Skull snapped impatiently.

Scorpion glanced at Skull, but shut his mouth grudgingly. Lynx walk to Skull's side. "What are you doing here? And with _that_?" she asked, nodding at Scorpion.

"I came to find you."

Scorpion rolled his eye, muttering, "We don't need _her_."

Skull shot him a glare as Lynx gave her a confused look, "But how did you find me? I thought no one knew about this place."

"Oh, Bone…"Skull stopped, feeling as though talking about spirits was illicit. "I… I sort of found you," she shrugged. "What happened to you during the battle?" Skull asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh! You will never believe it, but I was about to be killed by a forest cat, when a rogue I didn't know threw the other cat off me. He told me he'd hold them off while I got away," Lynx said. "What about you? What's happened in Bloodclan? Is Scourge still being bossy as ever and spoiling you?"

Skull's own smile dropped, "Scourge is dead."

Lynx blinked, "Oh, I'm sorry. Who's the leader now?"

"Could we please get on with this?" Scorpion interrupted. "Skull's the leader. That's all you need to know, so can we leave now?"

"You're the leader Skull?" Lynx eyes widened.

"Heh… yeah, imagine that," she weakly smiled, slightly embarrassed.

Scorpion pointedly cleared his throat.

"Oh," Skull started before he could butt in, "That's sort of the reason I came to find you." She explained how she needed loyal cats who wouldn't try to kill her. Skull continued, adding that she was going to find a forest cat to fix her shoulder.

Lynx noticed how she favored her leg, cocking her head in concern, "What happened?"

"I was hurt fighting a twoleg," Skull said dismissively, "And of course no cat in Bloodclan knows healing well enough to help—but then again even if any did, they wouldn't want to help me, the evil leader."

Lynx nodded understandingly, then flicked an annoyed ear in Scorpion's direction, "Okay, so who is he?"

Skull let out a mocking groan, "That's Scorpion. He's agreed to help me. What about you? Will you help?"

The gold cat folded her ears back slightly at Scorpion's smug expression in her direction. "Of course I will. We've known each other since you were born; I could never turn my back on you. You are like a sister to me. I'll definitely help… as long as _he_ doesn't get in the way." She narrowed her eyes as Scorpion.

Skull laughed nervously as he rasped his claws on some rubble, "Just watch your back, _she-cat_, because I never promised I wouldn't kill you."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Please! Stop!" Bark mewled pitifully, his voice ragged at he struggled to pull himself upright. Blood throbbed down his flank from a gash running at an angle from his spine. He tried to crawl away, when something caught his tail and his legs, buckling under him, collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A chill rippled down into his chest as he sensed the black monstrous cat lean over him. The voice that followed as like a windstorm, but cynically quiet.

"Tainted blood…"

"Leave me alone!" Bark's voice suddenly became uncharacteristically forceful as he rolled on his side and tried to kick the cat away. It was a vain attempt.

The black specter held him fast to the ground, "Be still, or I will slaughter you." Bark froze instantly as the specter continued, "Why do you follow the black she-cat?"

The wretched cat choked over his reply, "She is up to something, I… I thought I… had the responsibly…to warn the Bloodclan cats. She is different. She… is changing things… I don't really… I don't know how, but… I think it will destroy Bloodclan."

The glowing red eyes of the specter narrowed intriguingly, "You recognize this?"

Bark gulped and nodded.

"Your blood is pure. I shall let you live," the specter release its grip on Bark and he scrambled up.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Bark groveled in a cringe.

"Stand up." It said forcefully, "You have potential, Pure Blood. From now on you shall serve me. Your name is no longer what it was. You shall be called Blood, after me, The Blood Master. Your clan has become corrupted and so you must wipe out the pitiful insects that dare to oppose me. I will make you the true Bloodclan leader."

Bark, now called Blood, widened his eyes in confusion and ambition. In a trembling tone he mewed, "Thank you Blood Master… but may I ask… who are you?"

The Blood Master's lips twisted into a smile that chilled Blood's body to the bones, "Yes, my servant, you may, for I once had the same opportunity as you. I was called Blood as you are now, until about a moon ago I was killed in the same battle that killed your old leader. I fought along side him, and he wanted me to succeed him, but we both ended up dead. That black she-cat is an imposter. Bloodclan needs a true leader who can uphold the old ways."

Blood bowed his head to hide his cruel smile. Finally he would be able to wreak revenge on Skull for her malice, "I understand Master."

"Good. You shall be rewarded for your loyalty soon," because of his bowed head, Blood did not see his Master's own smile which held no honesty in it. This traitorous bond was filled with malevolence; both had their own purposes of joining it, and the Blood Master's plans held no reward for his servant, but Blood's clouded mind could not see that. The smile unmistakably said Blood would be disposed of whenever it pleased his Master.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for Chapter eight!_


	8. Chapter 8: Pain of the Past

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Welcom back to TDOF  
I had this chapter typed up at the same time as CH 7  
But I was too busy to upload it. So now here it is :D_

_Enjoy!_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter Eight:

Skull craned her head backward to stare at the towering fence before her trio, feeling incredibly small. With her injury there was no way she'd be able to climb over it plus its slick white surface would make it a difficult climb even for Scorpion and Lynx. A _twoleg_ would be short next to this fence.

It had taken a large part of the day to traverse all the way back across Twoleg Place to the opposite side of Lynx's sanctuary, to the side that was lined by the forest, and all three cats were beginning to become irritable from fatigue. The mud on Scorpion's fur had dried into a stiff shell that took a long time to scrape off with causing as little pain as possible. He didn't particularly thank either she-cat for helping him either, but a couple of times Skull noticed him glance ever-so-slightly at Lynx, who walked on the opposite side of Skull. Lynx in return didn't even acknowledge his presence unless necessary.

The sun was close to setting and none of the three cats wanted to have to complete the task of kidnapping a forest cat in daylight, so that meant they had to find one tonight or wait an entire day for the next night. Scorpion wanted to wait, until they were all rested, but Skull fervently disagreed because she wanted to be healed as soon as possible. When Lynx established her opinion with Skull, Scorpion grudgingly consented. Now this soaring fence stood in their way of getting into the forest.

Scorpion gave the pair a smug stare, "I told you it would be easier if we were all rested."

Skull ignored him, focusing on the task at hand. Lynx on the other hand hissed back at him. "You can be a right, foul mouse-brain, you know that? What if Skull's leg gets worse because we wait?"

"That won't happen," Scorpion said mildly, breaking twigs off a small bush without much interest. "It's just dislocated, not broken."

Skull looked back over her shoulder at him, "How would you know that kind of stuff?"

"Because I dislocated my leg once, and it was like that for moons. Then, when I was in a fight, it somehow popped back into place and I was perfectly fine afterwards," he yawned.

"You're impossible!" Lynx snapped tetchily; rolling her eyes, she began pacing up and down the length of the fence.

"Oi! What are you lot doing in my yard?" a voice suddenly yelled out, causing all three to whirl around. From the Twoleg nest behind them, a tubby black-and-white tom had come through a flap in the twoleg door and was fluffed up in a threatening gesture, or in his case, _alarmed_. "You—you get out… now!" the fat tom stuttered, hoping they'd obey. By the severe stare that Scorpion gaze him, he guessed they would not.

"Who, in the name of the dead, are you?" Scorpion growled deeply. The other tom froze, petrified.

"Scorpion, do you always feel the need to turn cats into nerveless lumps of fur?" Lynx asked disdainfully. She prowled forward to stand directly in front of the tom. "Give your name, kittypet."

The tom ducked his head lower than the lean, lithe Lynx, and blurted, "I'm Smudge."

"Well met, Smudge," Lynx spoke in a monotonous tone. "We are trying to find a way to get across this fence into the forest. If you could be so kind as to tell us a way that would be easier than scaling the fence, we'd be out of here right away. This young kit is injured, so anything that would be easy for her would be best."

Smudge's eyes hopped from one of the three to the others, looking slight bewildered, "Sure, I can show you. But is the kit yours? I mean, are you and him mates?" He nodded over Lynx's shoulder at Scorpion, whose jaw dropped slightly at the suggestion that he and that infuriating gold she-cat were _mates_. Even Skull thought it was a ridiculous notion; how could you cross a silver cat and a gold cat and get a _black_ cat? Plus Lynx was only six moons older than herself. The tom was imbecilic!

"Not exactly, but that doesn't really matter, does it?" Lynx replied coolly. "If you could please just get on with showing us to the forest, now?"

Smudge twitched involuntarily, "Oh, sorry, I mean, of course! I didn't mean to nose around." He set off at a loping pace to a yard adjacent to his, showing them a hole in the ground than went underneath the fence that bordered both yards. From there he led them to the far corner of that yard where another hole had been dug under the outlying fence, leading to the forest.

Skull nodded gratefully at him and led her pair under the fence. Smudge blinked in confusion that it seemed the kit was commanding the others and then the odd trio of strays was gone. Smudge shuttered, mewing to himself, "Hope they don't come back through here again. Nasty pieces of work I ever did see."

The sudden openness of the small stretch of field than stood between them and the edge of the forest, made Skull feel extremely exposed. She fell back behind Lynx and Scorpion, letting them take the lead in this strange environment. The last time she had been here was during the battle of BloodClan and Lionclan, and it had left deep scars on her mind. For the first time since her father's death, she really felt like the kit she was.

Lynx noticed Skull's hesitation and stopped for her, "Skull? What's the matter?"

Even Scorpion saw her usual certainty leave her eyes.

Skull shook herself, "Nothing. I'm fine. Let's just keep going." She limped along faster, not wanting them to see the frightened little kit that had been buried deep inside her for so long.

"Hang on a minute," Scorpion said, tasting the air. "I can smell cat-markers, fresh ones. We must be on the boundary of one of the clan territories. I think we should wait until dark to go any farther, especially if the cats that set the markers are still close. And I'm _not_ just saying that to be lazy," he added as Lynx gave him one of her looks.

"Fine, you great lump of fur," Lynx rolled her eyes. "As much as I hate to agree, you are right…probably."

Skull nodded wearily, "As soon as it is dark we'll move, but right now I don't think I can take another step…"

The trio put their backs to the fence they had just come under, so that nothing could sneak up on them from behind and took turns taking short blinking-naps. Neither Scorpion nor Lynx trusted each other enough to let the other stand guard alone, and so while Skull napped, both were awake. When Skull took her turn, the pair would be as far apart as they could be, but still be close enough to leap into action if something tried to attack.

During her second turn dozing, Skull _really_ fell into a deep slumber, completely fatigued after her rough day. Lynx cast her gaze over Skull's small form with an empathetic expression. Scorpion was relaxing with his head on his paws, but glanced up in surprise as Lynx began to speak, "She's had such a rough life…"

Scorpion tilted his head to get a better view from his single eye, "Oh? How's that?"

Lynx sighed resentfully, "BloodClan may have thought since she was Scourge's daughter, that he really spoiled her. That's sort of true. Sure, she got some special privileges, like food and shelter, but he truly despised any sort of family bond. By the time Skull could eat solid food, Scourge drove her mother out of the clan on account of her being too weak or some stupid reason like that. I vaguely remember that Skull had an older brother too, about my age, and I think that their mother was really opposed to Skull being raised the same way as he had been and so that's why Scourge chased her out. He made her leave Skull though, but I'm not sure why."

For the first time, the gold she-cat met Scorpion's gaze. "I don't think Skull remembers her mother much, but growing up without a mother is a terrible thing. My own mother, Stitch, abandoned BloodClan because she wanted to stay with me; she's lucky they didn't hunt her down. We ended up staying in an old barn with a rouge tom named Barley. I thought he was my father for the longest time, but then my mother told me about Bone, my real father. I only came back because he was in the clan, and that's I found out I had a half-brother, named Crusher."

"What happened to him?" Scorpion asked.

"He was too ambitious, even killing _his_ mother. Then he tried to take command of BloodClan from Scourge, and of course that didn't go over too well. He was driven out. I don't know if he's even alive any more. Pretty sure everyone else in my family is dead, even my mother," Lynx broodingly sniffed.

Scorpion didn't know how to response, and shrugged, "Well, it's not impossible to grow up without a mother, I guess. You seem to be doing fine and so does Skull."

"That's just the point," Lynx replied bitterly, turning away once more. "Skull has had to grow up way to fast. Other cats are trying to kill her, some look to her for help, and all the while she has to deal with things like that injury. I wish I could just help her better."

The battle-scarred tom folded back his ears remorsefully. "So do I… I had a sister, who was a few moons younger than Skull, named Moss. She was a whiny, sickly thing, but my parents favored her, stupid crow-food. Before she was born, I thought I'd love having a sibling. I always pictured my sibling would be the strong type, like Skull. But my pitiful sister was always crying for no reason, and acting sick just to get her way, and my hate kept growing, so one night I slashed her throat while she was asleep."

At Lynx's revolted gasp, Scorpion scowled, "I know, I'm a monster. Anyway, my parents awoke to her last dying mewl, and tore my eye out because of it._ My_ depraved mother did nothing to stop my father as tried to drive me away. In the end, I killed them both.

"I hated the both of them and almost any cat I've met I've torn up, but something about Skull, when I met her, kept me from killing her on the spot. It's her spirit, I suppose," Scorpion continued. "She's tough, and I admire her."

Lynx looked up at the darkening sky, "Even if we do help Skull, I don't think she'll ever _really_ recover… from the emotional scars, I mean… Anyways, wake her up. It's time."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A strange silence had filled the forest as night fell in ThunderClan. Firestar and Sandstorm had left on a journey given to him by StarClan two days ago, and the rest of the clan went to sleep uneasily. They had posted many more guards than usual, even allowing some apprentices to stay out. Their medicine cat, Cinderpelt, was restless, pacing her den until she needed some fresh air.

The gray cat hobbled out of her den and began to take a short walk around the edge of camp, checking on each apprentice-guard to make sure they weren't too exhausted. As she passed one apprentice, she felt a sudden jolt as a misty form seemed to take the apprentice's place. For the slightest moment Cinderpelt was unsure of what was going on, but she quickly realized StarClan was giving her a sign.

She watched passively as the misty form became a small black cat with the coldest blue eyes she had ever seen. Cinderpelt recoiled at the sight, sudden flashes of the battle with BloodClan coming to her mind—Scourge! But for some reason, a wave of serenity washed over her instead of anxiety. She turned her face to the sky in confusion, "What are you trying to tell me, StarClan?"

Looking back at the misty form, Cinderpelt realized the cat was much too young to be that demonic creature, Scourge; it could have only been five or six moons. For a moment, Cinderpelt watched as the black kit's spectral body move, then she detected a limp in the kit's step. Suddenly a blast of pain, along with the flashes that she had had nightmares about exploded over her vision. Cinderpelt nearly cried out as them memory of how she was crippled overtook her. The shock slowly faded and when Cinderpelt looked around, the ghostly kit was gone.

Even more confused, Cinderpelt breathed out, "What is so important about that kit? It didn't even look like it was from any of the clans!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

End Chapter Eight

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_I had a fun time sticking Smudge in there XD  
Please R&R!_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.


	9. Chapter 9: Cruel Fate

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Sorry for such the long delay.  
School is EVIL at the moment_

_Enjoy the new chapter!_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Chapter Nine:

Scorpion took the lead, slipping into the forest's shadows to make sure the way was safe, then Skull followed, with Lynx taking the back-guard. Skull's eyes were still blurred from sleep and she stumbled slowly along. She knew she should try to clear her head, but she couldn't bring herself to face the foreboding territory she was in. The only thing it made her think of was her father's death. It was better just to let it pass by like a formless fog.

"Skull, stop!" Scorpion hissed under his breath, causing the kitten to halt abruptly in her tracks.

She flicked her eyes up to him questioningly, "What?"

"We're really close," Lynx murmured softly, slipping up to stand beside her, "And you should be careful where you tread." She pointedly gazed near Skull's paws.

The black kitten quickly checked the shadowy ground where Lynx was indicating and saw that she had nearly stepped on a large twig. If they were as close as Lynx said, the sound of it snapping definitely would have alerted any forest cat nearby. Skull ducked her head embarrassedly, "Sorry…" _What kind of leader was that clumsy?_ She thought harshly.

She had been too wrapped up in trying to block out the forest that she hadn't scented the heavy smell of forest cats that wreathed the area like a sickly cloud; now it flooded her nose and tongue, feeling as if it were tangible. The noise of some night bird swooping overhead made Skull jump involuntarily and her paws landed with a faint, but noticeable _thump_. Skull gritted her teeth ineptly and against the pain in her leg, knowing Scorpion and Lynx were cursing her weak mistake.

The three cats froze immediately, waiting for the slightest indication that the sound had alerted some cat. Nothing stirred except for a breeze, which they were thankfully down wind of in relation to the forest cat camp. _Are there any cats out in the forest tonight? _Skull wondered, praying that there weren't.

In the long silence that followed, she was just waiting for Scorpion to lash out at her for nearly giving them away. A cloud had passed over the moon, making it nearly impossible to see his expression because his pelt blended into the blotted forest shadows like a wraith. She could just picture fury in his eye. But Scorpion just gave the kitten a light glance and flicked his ear to beckon the two she-cats to follow.

Unlike Skull or Scorpion, Lynx's golden pelt showed up more in the darkness, even without the moonlight. She almost had a hard time keeping up because if she blinked, the pair seemed to disappear, but every so often Skull would check back over her shoulder to Lynx, and she's be able to lock on to the kitten's icy eyes. The poor kitten looked tattered, and she was favoring her injured leg even more, as if it was getting worse. Lynx snarled inwardly at the twoleg who had hurt Skull, wishing that her claws could tear its innards out.

Scorpion stopped as the forest cat scent became even stronger than before; it was almost repulsive enough to make him gag. He turned to whisper to the she-cats, but Skull spoke first.

"How will we know which cat is their healer?" she mewed, sounding as if she was trembling. Upon studying the kitten closer, Scorpion realized she _was_ quivering, yet she hadn't complained once.

He glanced through the trees and undergrowth, just barely catching a glimpse of a cat's silhouette. He paused broodingly, before replying in a whisper, "I say we kidnap the first cat we can find and force it to tell us which of its forest mates is the healer."

"That's mouse-brained," Lynx interrupted, "More than one cat goes missing, one of their mates will figure something is up. Plus how could we convince it to tell us? And, _no_, we cannot threaten it. Any cat with half a brain would raise an alarm before giving away anything. We have to figure out which is the healer and drag him or her as far from the camp as we can so no cat can hear it if it yowls."

"That still leaves the question of how to figure out which _is_ the healer," Scorpion retorted. They pair faced off, eyeing the other coldly until Skull coughed to get their attention. Scorpion glanced at her then back at Lynx, smug confidence lacing his whispered sneer, "I say Skull should decide. She is the leader after all."

Lynx grudgingly nodded and turned to listen to Skull's decision. The black kitten's eyes were blazing, "I think Scorpion's right, but so are you, Lynx. There's no way we could guess the right cat, especially in the dark, but two kidnappings would be risky. We'd have to gag the first and take it just as far as when we take the healer. I think we should try catching one of the younger looking ones. After the healer fixes me, we'll let them both go."

Lynx looked ready to claw Scorpion's ear off for the cheeky smirk he aimed at her. "You act like a know-it-all kit, you stupid tom," she haughtily swept her tail back and forth. "Fine. We should probably split up and skim around the border to find a good target. We'll meet back here as fast as we can. Skull, you can wait here for us. I don't think you should walk much more on that injury."

The kitten looked ready to spit venom, her eyes flaring, "What? You think I can't help scout out a target?"

Lynx flicked Skull's ear with her tail, holding a purr of laughter, "No, I'm sure you could, but there's only two directions to scout in to circle the camp and you have us two to do it. Why don't you start acting like a leader and make other cats do your dirty work?" Even Scorpion looked amused at the question.

Skull grunted and sank to her haunches, "Fine. Go."

The older pair of cats exchanged amused glances and split away, leaving Skull to wait by herself in the pitch blackness of the night's shadows.

Scorpion slid through the trees around ThunderClan's hollow, counting the silhouette-heads of each cat that he could see through the thick brambles that surrounded the place. There were a few cats who were just big enough to be slightly older than Skull, but Skull of course was small for her age. He guessed they were at least six or seven moons. What cats that young were doing awake at this time of the night, Scorpion had no idea; _another stupid forest cat training exercise_, he thought rolling his eyes, almost pitying the pathetic cats. If he wasn't helping Skull at the moment, he'd have curled up to sleep as soon as the sun had set.

Lynx spotted a small cat's silhouette lounging near a tunnel in the briars and brambles. It must be a young cat, not even keeping its eyes alert; if it had been looking around it might had seen the luster of her gold fur as the moon popped out for a moment, but it was too busy stretching and yawning. But the cloud blocked the moon again, and the reflected sheen disappeared from Lynx's pelt. With a small smirk, Lynx quickly made the decision that the young cat would be their target. She quickly made her way to the half way point around the camp so she could meet Scorpion and point out the target to him.

Skull drummed her claws on the dusty earth, irritably thinking of how she needed to reinforce them with fangs as was custom for BloodClan cats. She also needed a fang-spiked collar, but no twoleg would randomly put collars on any cat on the street. She jadedly skimmed her mind for ideas of how to get one. Once she did, she'd really be able to call herself a BloodClan cat and maybe, by then, she'd be brave enough to make the connection with Scourge. The thought made her stomach roll queasily; why did she have to skin his corpse's head?

Suddenly her ears perked up; Scourge's body still had the dog fangs on his claw and his collar. She'd really be the clan leader if she had _his _trophies to wear. At that moment she made up her mind to take them as soon as her leg was fixed and they got back.

Her thoughts were suddenly broken into as a muffled voice spoke out into the night, "I swear, Dustpelt! I heard voices over there in the bushes."

Skull froze as icy dread flooded her veins. There was rustling coming toward her and she could hear the sound of needle-like claw scraping the ground. The kitten flattened herself to the ground as low as she possibly could, trying to slink backwards at the same time. Suddenly her back paw slipped over a slick stone and slammed into a thin branch, which shattered with a loud crack.

"Over there!" another voice shouted and Skull could hear paws pounding the ground, and approaching fast.

Gulping down a squeak of panic, Skull spun on her haunches and launched herself into a bound. She hit the ground hard and her injured leg completely buckled sending her sprawling across the forest floor. She let out a howl of agony as the slight shock of the fall disappeared and fiery searing flared up in her shoulder.

"There's a cat trying to get away!" the first voice shouted.

"Bet it's ShadowClan!" the second snarled. "Catch it! We'll take it to Graystripe to deal with!"

Skull had curled up in anguish, oblivious to how close the pursuers had gotten until too late. The sharp tear of claws hit her back full on as one of the pursuing cats leap on her. She shrieked, trying to retaliate, but the pair had her pinned.

Above the blood pounding in her ears, Skull heard one of the cats murmur, "Great StarClan, he can't be back from the dead!"

"Scourge…" the other breathed; Skull wailed as his claws dug into her spine.

"Wait, no! It's just a she-kit," the first said, "Sheathe you claws, Dustpelt, before you tear the poor thing's pelt off!"

"She's an intruder, Brackenfur, incase you haven't noticed," the first, Dustpelt, snarled back. "We are bringing her back to camp where the deputy can deal with her."

Skull let out a snarl and tried to kick the pair of toms away by heaving upwards with her back legs, but they were too heavy. After she stopped scrambling the weight of the pair lifted off her shoulders and she tried to make a dash for it, only to feel a pair of fangs sink into her scruff. "Release me!" She spat unable to twist and strike.

A pale brown tom stalked in front of her, glaring down at the kitten coldly, "Shut up or I'll claw your ear off. Move it, Brackenfur."

Skull was roughly dragged backwards, with the pale brown tom following behind and keeping a cold glare on her the whole time. It wasn't until she was being pulled through a tunnel of brambling that anxiety let her shake off the tom's threat and shriek, "Lynx! Scorpion! HELP!"

Immediately more forest cats came racing towards the entrance at her yowl as Dustpelt and Brackenfur towed a writhing and spitting Skull into the camp.

"Who is _that_?" one cat bristled, watching Skull be pulled towards the leader's den, but another call broke through the buzzing of the gathered cats.

"There's rogues at entrance!"

Dustpelt whirled around leaving Brackenfur with the captive, yowling, "Attack them!"

Scorpion and Lynx had met at the halfway mark around the camp, only to hear Skull's plea for help. They both raced back to where they had left her, only to find a few drops of blood and a small clump of black fur a little ways away. Lynx let out a snarl and bounded forward, following the scent trail that Skull had left. Scorpion shot past the she-cat; faster, he was a good tail length ahead within a blink of an eye. Suddenly they reached the mouth of the camp entrance and heard the cry that announced them.

Lynx quickly checked the scent around them, confirming that Skull had been taken through the tunnel. She relayed it to Scorpion in a snarl, "They took her into their camp!"

His tail lashed against the ground and he launched himself forward only to be met head on by Dustpelt as he charged into the tunnel. The pair locked together as a screeching ball of fur, nearly blocking the entire entrance, but another cat slipped by them and jumped at Lynx.

The gold she-cat rolled on her back, watching the other cat overshoot and fly past overhead. Another cat had joined Dustpelt in trying to take down Scorpion, and the trio filled the night air with yowling. Lynx leapt onto her opponent's back, making him crash to the ground in a heap. With him pinned, she glanced at her companion helplessly, "Scorpion, we have to get out of here! There's no way we can fight them all!"

The massive tom struck with his serrated claws, catching Dustpelt's back leg. As the forest warrior cringed for a spilt second, Scorpion kicked with all he could and send the tom flying into the brambles. Scorpion saw other warriors flooding into the tunnel, knowing Lynx was right. He cuffed his second rival, dazing the young cat, and before any more cats could attack, Scorpion launched himself backwards, shoving Lynx out with his shoulder, "Move it!"

With forest cats pounding hard on their paws the pair fled into the shadows. Once the sounds of the other cats disappeared, Lynx whirled on Scorpion, "We have to go back for her. They'll kill Skull if they find out who she is! I know you probably would rather leave her there and not worry what happens to her, but you swore you'd help her! You owe it to her! She's like a sister to me. I can't let her get hurt!"

"Lynx!" Scorpion snarled before she could keep going. "I'm not going to just walk away!" Lynx's mouth shut in surprise. "I don't think Skull will be in any immediate danger. First of all, you need to calm down so we can think of a way to help her escape."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

End Chapter Nine

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Please Rate and Review/Comment!  
I Haven't gotten that many lately and  
I am dying to know what my readers think!_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.


	10. Chapter 10: Poison?

_Yeah, sorry this took forever to get put up  
I've had it finished for over a month I think.  
I was just too busy with a month-long art  
contest during October to get anything posted XD_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter Ten:

* * *

"I'll rip you apart!" Skull hissed at Brackenfur as he dragged her towards a formation of rocks. Clan cats from dens on all sides of the camp were racing to defend the camp from Lynx and Scorpion. Skull could hear their furious yowls as well as the cats that were attacking them. If she wasn't able to break free, there would be no way they could reach her. Scorpion was a strong cat, but even he couldn't take on an entire clan. Within minutes the yowls began to get farther until completely dying off. Had the clan cats defeated her companions?

"Brackenfur, what's going on?" From within the shadows in a cave-like opening in the rocks a huge gray tom bounded forward.

Skull squeaked slightly as the tom dragging her let her slump to the ground, then held her pinned to the ground with his paw, claws sheathed, as he replied to the other cat, "There were rogues just outside the camp. Dustpelt and I found this kit sneaking around the edge of camp, then once we brought her into camp three other cats attacked out of nowhere."

Skull distractedly noted that their count must have been off; there was only Scorpion and Lynx. No third cat. She looked up at the gray tom, trying to shrink from his piercing yellow gaze. He was huge! And his long fur seemed to double his size. He cocked his head at her, narrowing his eyes, scrutinizing her, "Not clan cats? Are you sure it wasn't ShadowClan, Brackenfur?"

"Absolutely," the ginger tom nodded. "Just rogues."

The gray tom leaned in to Skull, sniffing at her scent. She sharply tried to pull away, but was held fast by Brackenfur. The gray tom grunted, "Stop cowering. I'm not going to hurt you."

"They will come back for me!" Skull spat at him, refusing to let him belittle her.

The sight of the tiny kitten trying to act fierce amused both toms into purring. The gray one replied, "If they know what's good for them, they won't. Though, if you behave, and they don't try anything stupid, we might have you escorted back to the edge of Twoleg Place."

"And who's going to stop me from ripping you apart?" Skull retorted, trying to throw Brackenfur's paw off her back.

"You'd better watch that tongue of yours or _I'll_ rip _you_ apart, little rat!" a third voice responded, and the form of Dustpelt strode up, a thin gash on his hind leg oozing a bit of blood. Skull's eyes blazed with fury, but she was helpless to do anything to him. Dustpelt passed her a sneer as he reported, "Two of the rogues took off towards Twoleg Place, and the last, towards ShadowClan."

Skull cocked her head—so there _was_ three cats? Who could the third have been? Maybe a cat from one of the other clans had come to spy and got caught in the middle of the fight between the rogues and the clan cats.

"Dustpelt, we have this under control," the gray tom told him meaningfully. "Go get your leg taken care or, go back to your den, or set up some cats as the replacement watch." The dusky brown tom sniffed haughtily, passing Skull a threatening hiss.

"Dustpelt, you heard Graystripe! Go stand watch or something. I'll take care of your scratch later," a new voice snapped, its owner hobbling forward. It was a young ash-colored she-cat who glanced at Skull with a knowing look in her eyes. Finally the brown tom relented and stalked away. The gray she-cat approached the tom called Graystripe, "Who is this?"

"A rogue kit," he replied, "and a fiery one at that. You can go back to your den Cinderpelt. We'll handle her."

"She's injured," Cinderpelt retorted, eyeing the small bit of blood smeared in Skull's fur that Dustpelt had drawn when he had pounced on her.

Brackenfur explained quickly, "Dustpelt didn't realize she was a kitten when he attacked."

Cinderpelt rolled her eyes, "You'd have to be a complete mouse-brain to not be able to tell such a small cat is a kitten!"

"It's just a scratch! I'll be fine! Let me leave!" Skull hissed back, still twisting under Brackenfur's paw.

Graystripe looked in the direction that Dustpelt had gone, sighing exasperatedly, "He just has no restraint… Either way, we have to provide treatment. It'd go against the warrior code to not care for an injured kit. Let her up, Brackenfur and escort her to Cinderpelt's den."

Brackenfur complied, murmuring gently to Skull, "Just don't try anything. We can't let our clan mates be hurt over some rogue, even a kit."

Skull didn't move. This had to be some sort of trick. No rational cat would trust a hostile cat that they just met enough to show that kind of generosity. They were just waiting for her to do something so they could have an excuse to kill her without it being completely in cold blood.

Cinderpelt moved forward to nudge Skull's flank with her nose, "Come on."

Skull looked at the three cats suspiciously. Finally she shifted to get to her paws, figuring that if she didn't they'd end up dragging her anyways. If anything, she didn't want that kind of embarrassment again. The moment she began to put weight on her injured let, the dull throb that had been pulsing through it erupted into a full blown wave of anguish. She let out a shriek and fell back to the ground on her side, clenching her body into a small ball.

The two toms had flinched back in surprise, but Cinderpelt, as if she had expected the spasm, rushed to inspect Skull's leg. "Those scratches aren't her only injury. Something is wrong with her leg. Brackenfur! You'll have to carry her to my den," the she-cat instructed swiftly, only to stop Brackenfur as he bent in to grab Skull's scruff in his teeth. "Wait! No dragging. It might make her leg worse. Graystripe, help me lift her onto his back."

It took only a moment to put the tiny she-cat—still whimpering—onto Brackenfur's strong back. Keeping his stride smooth, he promptly followed Cinderpelt to her den.

"Here, can you swallow some poppy seeds?" Cinderpelt queried, pushing a few black dots towards Skull. The kitten had woozily tried to fight off the pain that was crippling her; she cocked her head limply towards Cinderpelt's herbs. There was no way she could dare to eat some sort of herb—it could be poison for all she knew!

Brackenfur was sitting next the den's entrance, obviously acting as a guard to Cinderpelt, who—Skull noted—had a slight limp herself. Noticing the kitten's hesitation, he nodded towards the seeds encouragingly with a purr, "You won't get sick from that. It makes pain more endurable. Believe me; it will be much easier to deal with whatever Cinderpelt has in store for you if you take the seeds."

_How can he be warm to me? I'm an intruder!_ Skull thought with uncertainty. He had even stuck up for her out in the forest when Dustpelt had attacked her. Hesitantly, she let her tongue touch the black dots, the wetness making them stick—all the while her eyes locked firmly on her captors, waiting for some sign that they had tricked her. Neither betrayed anything.

"Why were you so deep into our territory?" Cinderpelt queried casually as she waited for the poppy seeds to take effect, but a hidden undertone warned Skull to be careful of her words. "Surely your parents told you that the forest was dangerous, especially because the clans. Even the rogues and kittypets around here know of us."

Skull kept her mouth clamped shut. Her father _had_ told her of the forest cats. According to him, they were mouse-brained, but vicious and without mercy. He had always said BloodClan would always be superior to forest cats because they ruled the territory that twolegs had tried to take; forest cats were too primitive to achieve such a thing. Skull doubted the pair would appreciate hearing his remarks. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Cinderpelt as a sudden feeling of euphoria made her feel as if she was floating.

"Alright…" Cinderpelt frowned, attempting another direction, "Will you tell us your name then?"

Skull couldn't help but scowl at the cat and her mouth stayed stubbornly shut until—unexpectedly her jaw slackened as she panted out a confused whisper, "What did you do to me?!"

Cinderpelt twitched an ear in amusement, "The seeds are just making you tired and it will keep you from feeling pain while I put your dislocated shoulder back in place."

"How'd ya know it was diz-lika-ed…?" Skull slurred, her eyes drooping. She tried to push herself up. She had to get away! Her thoughts were so jumbled, and a thick fog of panic washed her mind. In the bewilderment, she didn't realize that her injury had seemingly gone numb. _The seeds _must_ be poison!_ She half-thought, half mumbled. These cats had no intention to help her! She could sense it!

Cinderpelt was mewing for her to hold still as Skull swung her head around to rest her dizzy gaze on Brackenfur. She shrank back in horror to see his ginger form take on a dark appearance… one that had haunted her deepest dreams since she had seen her father killed so long ago. Instead of the gentle face of the tom who had carried her into the den, now all she saw was the fiery countenance of the clan cat who slaughtered Scourge.

"No! Get away from me!" Skull snarled, her hackles spiked more from terror than menace. Fear had strengthened her voice once more.

The fire-pelted cat took a deliberate step toward her, making the small black kit swipe out at him as hard as she could—a feeble strike under the influence of the seeds. He easily dodged the movement and moved in to try pinning her before she could attack again.

Skull felt another paw trying to push her down from behind and she kicked backwards with her hind legs. She felt her claws snag on Cinderpelt's belly fur, and, using her like a spring board, she pushed herself under the fire-pelted cat as he tried to pin her. She slithered across the dusty ground, feeling the displacement of air as he missed his chance and dropped his paws, a fraction of a second late, right behind her.

Brackenfur blinked in perplexity as the fear in Skull's eyes deepened at him as she glanced between the pair of clan cats and the entrance of the den. Before he could react, as if her leg had already been fixed, she bolted for the night air.

"Stop her!" Cinderpelt gasped, trying to regain her breath from Skull's kick. _Great StarClan!_ She thought as she watched Brackenfur race after the kitten. _I've never seen poppy seeds have that effect… StarClan must have a reason for giving me a vision of her._ The gray cat hurried to the entrance of her den, hoping to see that Brackenfur had caught the kitten. Her heart sunk as she saw the black silhouette of the kitten streak into the fern tunnel before anyone could stop her. Just before she slipped out of sight, the kitten glanced back over her shoulder with her frightened, ice-blue eyes—the expression in them twisted Cinderpelt's heart in pity.

Brackenfur was yowling for some cat closer to the entrance to go after her, but Cinderpelt bowed her head, as if giving in. She knew, not the reason for it, but that the little kitten's terrified adrenaline would easily outpace a warrior with little motivation to pursue her. But Cinderpelt only had a moment before she stiffened at the sight of Dustpelt, his expression sly, charging through the tunnel right after Brackenfur.

* * *

End Chap 10

* * *

_Comment's are very much appretiated ;)_


End file.
